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Voss: I needed more time

Nick Bowen
Feb 18, 2014 11:50AM

Michael Voss says he regrets accepting the Brisbane Lions coaching position without any experience

I would have definitely spent a couple more years plying my trade

Michael Voss on his path to coaching

IF MICHAEL Voss could turn back time, he would not have stepped straight into senior coaching without an apprenticeship.

The former Brisbane Lions’ revelation follows Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson's call for coaches to be accredited and have a minimum two years' experience before being eligible to take on a senior AFL coaching job.

“I would have definitely spent a couple more years plying my trade,” Voss told SEN radio on Tuesday morning.

Voss was sacked by the Lions just days after their round 20 loss to Richmond last season left them 13th on the ladder. In five seasons at the Gabba, Voss led the Lions to the finals just once, in his first season 2009.

Clarkson warned of the dangers of former stars such as suspended Essendon coach James Hird – and by implication Voss – rushing into coaching without experience.

"The game doesn’t protect itself from over-zealous board members who become fixated on the idea of a club legend or a star player becoming their coach with no experience,” Clarkson told Fairfax Media on Tuesday.

Voss did not take issue with Clarkson's comment on Tuesday morning, saying that in hindsight he had erred in accepting the Lions’ coaching job in late 2008 ahead of a senior assistant position at West Coast.

At the time, Voss had no coaching experience, having worked as a television commentator since his retirement at the end of 2006.

However, he did not agree with Clarkson's suggestion that requiring AFL coaches to become accredited was necessary to prevent a repeat of corporate governance scandals like the supplements saga that unraveled under Hird's watch at Essendon from late 2011-2012.

"What we’ve got to understand to is that while a coach’s role has changed considerably over this time, in some ways a coach’s role is not necessarily to enforce the governance and that of a football club," Voss said.

"The [general manager] of football is there to be able to make sure that that is followed on behalf of the board and a director of football.

"Now we see those in many structures, so it is a very big responsibility for a GM of football to make sure that all those protocols and systems that 'Clarko' is talking about are followed."